Lithium ion storage project financing options in Canada 2025

Does Canada have a 'first of a kind' lithium refinery project?

Canada’s federal government has pledged funding of up to C$120m for Frontier Lithium’s “first of a kind” lithium refinery project in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Canada’s Minister for Energy and Natural Resources, Jonathan Wilkinson, announced the conditional support from the Strategic Innovation Fund at PDAC 2025 in Toronto.

When will Ontario Energy Storage Project start?

The construction works are expected to begin in 2023, with full commercial operations slated to begin in 2025. Once operational, OES will be the largest clean energy storage project in Canada and will deliver critical capacity to Ontario’s energy grid. The energy storage project will be located in Jarvis, Haldimand Country in Ontario.

Why is frontier lithium partnering with Ontario?

“Ontario’s abundant supply of critical minerals is one of our province’s greatest advantages. We’re so pleased to welcome Frontier Lithium’s interest in expanding its production of strategic battery minerals right here in Ontario, which will support our growing end-to-end critical minerals and electric vehicle battery supply chain.

What is frontier lithium's proposed refinery?

Frontier Lithium’s proposed refinery would have the capacity to produce 20,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of lithium salts from the PAK lithium project, supporting battery production for around 500,000 electric vehicles per year. The PAK lithium project is a joint venture between Frontier Lithium (92.5%) and Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp (7.5%).

What is frontier lithium's Pak Lithium Project?

Frontier Lithium’s multi-hundred-million-dollar PAK Lithium Project is the first fully integrated lithium development initiative in Canada. It supports the Government of Canada’s goal of developing Canadian end-to-end supply chains for critical minerals in the face of an increasingly uncertain world.

What is frontier lithium?

“At Frontier Lithium, our vision is to become North America's leading supplier of critical materials. We are grateful for the confidence the Government of Canada has placed in this vision and for its support in developing our lithium conversion facility in Thunder Bay.